Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Fundraising campaign aims to help local guitar builder Jon Hill

Online fundraising campaigns have become so popular that bands and filmmakers alike have used Kickstarter to raise money for their respective projects. Last week, Indiegogo launched a campaign to help out Bootleg Guitars, the local custom guitar shop run by Clevelander Jon Hill. The $30,000 goal is rather ambitious, but the Indiegogo people have put together a cool video about Hill. It includes interviews with local musicians such as Billy Morris, Michael Stanley and Mike Barrick, all of whom testify to the man's magical ability to make fabulous guitars. "I don't know what makes a guitar play better than another one," says local guitarist Butch Armstrong. "But when you pick [a Bootleg guitar] up, you immediately get a vibe for it." You can see the video and read more about the campaign (and maybe even make a donation) here. Last year, Scene published a cover story about Hill and his Bootleg operation. You can read that article here.